Friday, August 12, 2016

NL South Season 36 Previews

ghutton9's take-Offensively this team won't hit for a high average and won't get on base a lot. They do have some good power in the lineup though and a couple speedsters. I'm not sure enough guys will be on in front of the power hitters to make much difference. I think this is an average offense. The defense is a different story though. With shortstop Brooks Larish the team has gold glove potential. They do lack a centerfielder with good range though. The gloves look good on this team and I'd say they are in the upper half of the NL. The rotation is good. Rodrigo Andujar and Albert Olivo could be an ace on almost any team in the league. The also have some solid mid rotation guys to fill out the starting staff. The bullpen is fairly strong as well. I really like this pitching staff and think they'll be in the top 3 or 4 of the NL. Houston's season will depend on how well they can score runs. They might not even have to do much of that with the defense and pitching they have. This looks like a 90+ win team that will challenge for the division title again.

Jackson Juggernauts(Owner bobbyj7-24th season)
Season 35/ 83-79

ghutton9's take-This team has a pretty average offense and maybe a bit above that. They have real good speed, some good power hitters and a few guys that can get on base. The weakness is going to be batting average. They don't have a lot of guys that can hit for a higher average. The defense doesn't look very good to me. They have some solid gloves at a few positions but they lack a true shortstop and centerfielder. I think this is a bottom half of the league defense. The rotation isn't very strong. They lack pitchers that can get deep into games and the staff is made up of mid to bottom rotation starters at best. The bullpen is pretty solid though. DT Cromer is a good reliever to build a bullpen around. There are some good options in the pen for this team. Overall, I'm thinking this team will finish close to the win total they had last season.

Texas Galveston Wave(Owner erichanville-12th season)
Season 35/ 73-89

ghutton9's take-I'm not liking the look of this offense. They lack contact hitters and good batting eyes. While they have good power, I'm just not sure they'll hit enough to make a difference. This looks like an offense that'll be near the bottom of the league. The defense is quite a bit better than the offense. Quinton Rooney has great range and arm for shortstop but only an average glove. The team has options though and have a few strong gloves at key positions and average gloves elsewhere. This could be an average to slightly above average defense. The rotation is a mess. The best starter they have is FP Huff but he's been in the bullpen for them. All of the starters are back end types. The bullpen is good main thanks to Huff, but Derrick Jacquez is pretty good too. They have solid depth in the pen also. This is a below average staff only due to the starters. This team appears to be in a rebuild phase that will continue this season. 70 wins is likely but I could see them winning less than that.

Louisville ARF ARF ARF ARF's(Owner Arfy-21st season)
Season 35/ 66-96

Owners thoughts-Louisville is still going to suck this season. Although we are hoping to not suck as much. Realistic goal would be to win 72-75 games. We have promoted stud prospect 3B Jairo Cedeno this season. He should give the offense a good spark. We also added 32 yr old Dante Pong. Not expecting much from him as players like him don't typically play well in Louisville. I'd project him to hit .240 and close to 20 homers. Our rotation still sucks. We got a nice surprise last season from 30 yr old rookie Stephen Webster. He led the team with 12 wins. I doubt he'll repeat that performance. We added 36 yr old reliever Juan Sierra. We gave him a nice bonus($3 mil) up front so he'll make near league minimum for the next 2 seasons. Quite a bargain from what he has made previous seasons. We only had to give up a second round pick to get him. He should be a nice addition for this season and with our top notch class 1 training facility in Louisville he should be a great valued contributor for next season as well.

ghutton9's take-The offense in Louisville is shaping up to be pretty solid this season. They should hit for a decent enough average and guys like Jair Cedeno and Louie Seanez are going to be really good in this lineup. They have a little bit of speed, but what I like is the team has players that can get on base. I think this is an average lineup and maybe above average. On defense the team has a couple good options at shortstop, but Jhonny Rijo is a gold glover. They also have a good centerfielder in Jack Westbrook. This is an upper half of the league defense. The rotation does suck. Led by Domingo Aguilar, who is a mid rotation type starter and it's filled out with guys that are #5 starters at best. The bullpen is solid though. They have decent depth and a couple top end relievers that can close out a game. I think Louisville takes a step forward this season and shouldn't be far off from competing again. If the rotation was a bit better then I could see them over 80 wins, but as is I'll put them around 70 and maybe with things going right they could get 75.